Redear sunfish
📖 Overview
Inhabits ponds, swamps, lakes; and vegetated pools, usually with mud or sand bottoms, of small to medium rivers. Also occurs in warm, clear and quiet waters rich in vegetation and snags. Has a preference for mollusks as food thus has potential for the control of snail vectors of schistosomiasis . Oviparous .
🔬 Taxonomy
🐟 Physical Description
: fusiform / normal.
🌀 Behaviour
Behavioural data for Redear sunfish is currently being reviewed.
🦐 Diet
The favorite food of this sunfish is snails, which it obtains by cracking their shells, hence this feisty gamefish's common name: shellcracker. These fish meander along lakebeds, seeking and cracking open snails and other shelled creatures. VanderKooy et al. (2000) observed that large L. microlophus predominantly focus on hard-shelled prey such as ostracods, hydrobiid snails and mussels throughout the entire year. In the same field investigation, it was observed that smaller fish tended to also consume zooplankton, amphipods, chironomid and ceratopongonid larvae and cladocerans, with varied distributions depending on the season. They are also believed to feed on algae, aquatic worms, copepoda, midge larvae, ephemeropteran and odonata nymphs, crayfish, small fish, and fish eggs. Redear sunfish have thick pharyngeal teeth which allow them to crunch exoskeletons. They are even capable of opening small clams. The specialization of this species for the deep-water, mollusk-feeding niche allows it to be introduced to lakes without the risk of competition with fish that prefer shallower water or surface-feeding. In recent years, the stocking of redear has found new allies due to the fish's ability to eat quagga mussels, a prominent invasive species in many freshwater drainages.
🥚 Reproduction
Breed in shallow ponds, lakes or creeks . Distinct pairing . Oviparous .
🌍 Habitat & Distribution
Freshwater; demersal. Subtropical; 40°N - 26°N North America: Savannah River in South Carolina to Nueces River in Texas, north in Mississippi River basin to southern Indiana and Illinois in the USA.
🌿 Ecology
📐 Morphometrics
🌡️ Water Parameters & Tolerance
🛡️ Conservation Assessment
📊 Population Risk & Fisheries
🎣 Angling Guide
- medium-heavy 6-7ft baitcasting rod
- fluorocarbon leader
- baitcaster reel
- weedy shallows
- submerged timber
- rocky drop-offs
- docks and boat lifts
Use barbless hooks, minimise air exposure, and revive fish head-first in current before release.
⚠️ Bag limits vary; check local slot-size regulations.
📊 Population Dynamics
| Year | Region | Index | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| - | - | - |
🌐 Names & Taxonomy
Scientific Synonyms
| Scientific Name | Author | Year | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eupomotis microlophus | Günther | 1859 | Synonym |
| Pomotis microlophus | Günther | 1859 | Synonym |
| Pomotis notatus | Agassiz | 1854 | Synonym |
| Pomotis speciosus | Holbrook | 1855 | Synonym |
| Xystroplites longimanus | Cope | 1877 | Synonym |
🔍 Similar Species
🗺️ Global Occurrence Map
Occurrence records from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) - 56 records indexed .
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